Nepal retrieves bodies from plane crash site

Rescue workers in Nepal have begun the grim task of identifying the victims of a plane crash that killed all 22 passengers and crew on board, most of them pilgrims from Bhutan.

The Twin Otter plane carrying three crew and 19 passengers, including one American, smashed into a mountainside shortly after taking off from a small airstrip, 140 kilometres east of Kathmandu on Wednesday afternoon.

The wreckage was located in a remote area of eastern Nepal and army helicopters later flew the bodies of all 22 victims to the capital for identification.

Relatives who had flown in from Bhutan waited at the domestic airport for the victims' bodies to arrive, many of them weeping.

The Bhutanese were on a religious tour of Nepal and had chartered the Tara Air plane to take them to a Buddhist holy site in the area.

There was initial confusion about their identity because they apparently claimed to be Nepalese citizens in order to qualify for cheaper air fares.

The plane's black box data recorder has been found and Nepal will set up two separate inquiries, one into the cause of the accident and one into how the Bhutanese chartered a flight using false names.

Air travel is popular in Nepal, which has only a very limited road network. Many communities, particularly in the mountains and hills, are accessible only on foot or by air.

Aviation accidents are relatively common, particularly during the summer monsoon, when visibility is usually at its worst.